Health and Safety Executive

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Unloading a vehicle

These pages help you to:

Working conditions

Questions to ask include:

Height

How high is the job from the ground?

Surface

Is this surface the workers will be on strong enough to take the weight of them and their equipment?

Ground

What is the ground condition under the area where access equipment might need to be set up - for example, is it sloping, muddy or uneven? The access equipment you use must be suitable for the ground conditions - stable, level and not liable to fall or collapse.

Weather

Is it raining hard, or very windy?

Task

How often do you need to do the job and how many sites will you visit?

Types of access

When looking at what you need to do the job, think about the following…

From the ground Can you do the work from the ground (e.g. forklift truck unloading pallets)?
From a platform Can you do the work from a safe working platform (e.g. can the vehicle be reversed up to a level unloading area)?
Can the work be done from an elevated platform (e.g. tail lift which lowers to the ground)?
Fall protection Can other work equipment be provided which will help with the job (e.g. hand holds and suitable points to place feet)?
Can any other measures be taken which may prevent a fall (e.g. non-slip surfaces)?

Tips for safe working

Further reading

From experience

Good practice:

What can happen:

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2012-09-20